Agric & Biotech

The Principal Programme Officer for African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) of African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), Mr. Sam Timpo, has said that the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), which is the national competent authority on biosafety in Nigeria, is always counted on as a leader in biosafety matters in Africa. Director-General and CEO ...

Major actors of the seed industry in West Africa will meet in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, from June 11 to 12, 2019 to assess progress made in the implementation of the harmonised regional seed regulation. Hybrid seeds The Harmonised Regional Seed Regulation was adopted in 2008 by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and in 2009 by the ...

Students of agriculture have again called for a ban on products of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Nigeria. This call was made at the recent Dialogue organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) with the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Abuja, on Monday, June 3, 2019. Participants at the Dialogue In attendance at the Dialogue were the Dean, Assistant ...

The Cross River State Government has directed beneficiaries of 2016-2019 cocoa lease allocation who are yet to pay their lease fees to clear such debts before June 21, 2019 to avoid possible sanctions. Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State Dr Oscar Ofuka, acting Chairman, Cross River State Cocoa Board, gave the directive via a statement made available to newsmen ...

The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) says it will be committing about $2 million to fund the production of quality early generation seeds for farmers across the country. Hybrid seeds Mr Kehinde Makinde, Country Manager, AGRA, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at a meeting organised by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) in collaboration ...

 With 10 years of active interest in tree conservation and sustainable forest management, members of the African Forest Forum (AFF) demonstrated their experience in hands-on plants-man-ship at a tree planting spree to boost the Karura forest in Nairobi. Planting of trees and at celebrations marking 10th Anniversary of AFF The tree planting exercise as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations according to the chair of AFF governing councils was testament to the ...

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance and over 40 non-governmental organisations representing millions of Nigerians have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to not sign into law, the recently passed Bill for an Act to amend the National Biosafety Management Agency Act, 2015 to enlarge the scope of the application and include definitions of other evolving aspects ...

Some stakeholders have decried activities of middlemen in the agricultural production, saying they are undermining the efforts of the Federal Government in the food value chain aimed at achieving food security. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) National Survey on “the Excesses of Middlemen in the Food Value Chain in Nigeria’’ ...

The Federal Government is working on new National Forest Management Policy Guidelines that would promote equitable management of the nation’s forest in such a manner that the harvest of timber and non-timber products does not have any adverse effects on the forest’s biodiversity, productivity and ecological process. Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Environmet, Mrs Ibukun Odusote Permanent Secretary in the ...

The total area of forest certified in Africa is less compared to other regions of the world, a study that was released on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 reveals. Forest certified in Africa is the least compared to other regions of the world. Photo credit: UNDP Cambodia/Chansok Lay/Oddar Meanchey The study that was initiated in 2017 found out that 7,684,980 hectares ...